American Airlines to operate special London-Delhi flight on Wednesday to bring stranded passengers

NEW DELHI: American Airlines will operate an unscheduled London-Delhi flight to bring passengers stuck in the UK's capital city for two days, an official of Indian aviation regulator DGCA said on Tuesday.

American Airlines' New York-Delhi flight (AA292) on Sunday had to divert to London as one of the passengers faced a medical emergency, aviation industry sources said.

Approximately 200 passengers of AA295 flight have been stuck in the UK's capital city for the last two days, they mentioned.

An official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI that an unscheduled London-Delhi flight was supposed to operate before Wednesday but it got cancelled due to crew duty time limitations.

The airline sought permission for change in the flight number as it was an unscheduled flight and the DGCA granted a new number immediately, the official said.

The airline has informed the DGCA that the unscheduled London-Delhi flight, which has been granted number AA295, will operate on Wednesday, the official said.

The change in the number of flight from AA292 to AA295 is in sync with international aviation regulations, according to the official.

An American Airlines' spokesperson said, "On Sunday, American Airlines flight 292 from New York to Delhi diverted to London Heathrow due to a medical emergency on board."

"The flight was unable to continue due to crew rest requirements and is currently awaiting approval from various governmental authorities as needed to redepart to DEL (Delhi). We apologise to our customers for this inconvenience," the spokesperson said in a statement.